


HBP Read-Through: Chapter 23 - Horcruxes

by Elfwreck



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Challenge: marchmetamatters, Gen, Meta, Nonfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-02-11
Updated: 2006-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23144752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elfwreck/pseuds/Elfwreck
Summary: I believe this chapter is pivotal, perhaps the most important in the book. It's one of the most crucial chapters in the entire series so far: in it, we learn how Voldemort became immortal, how he can be defeated, and why Harry is the man to do it.
Collections: March Meta Matters Challenge





	HBP Read-Through: Chapter 23 - Horcruxes

I believe this chapter is pivotal, perhaps the most important in the book. It's one of the most crucial chapters in the entire series so far: in it, we learn how Voldemort became immortal, how he can be defeated, and why Harry is the man to do it.

This is my contribution to the [Half-Blood Prince Chapter Read-Through](http://community.livejournal.com/hp_essays/127293.html).

Overall, three things are going on in this chapter:

  1. **Slughorn's admission** that he was the one to explain Horcruxes to Tom Riddle, which he's been hiding for many years 
  2. **An explanation of Horcruxes** & discussion of what Tom/Voldemort has done with them, and 
  3. A discussion about **why Harry is the one** who has to defeat Voldemort. 



The point first is minor—character details, like Myrtle's history with the basilisk or Percy's adulation of Crouch. It's important to the story, but not to the epic tale of Harry vs. Voldemort or Good vs. Evil in the Wizarding world. The other two points are major aspects – one external and public, one personal and private.

Two hundred years from now, the stories won't remember that it was Slughorn who told Tom Riddle how Horcruxes worked, unless there are as-yet-unknown aspects of his involvement. We assume Tom was curious and ambitious enough to find this information *somewhere*; he just might not have gotten it from a sympathetic person. But centuries from now, the fact that Lord Voldemort split his soul into seven pieces will stand out as one of the most frightening and evil actions in Wizarding history… and the point at which Harry became convinced of his own destiny to conquer Voldemort will mark the turning point in the battle against him.

Contemplating Horcruxes  
Harry is the Chosen One  
Extraneous details  


##  The Altered Memory

Oddly, the missing memory itself plays only a small part in this. I'm still not sure why Dumbledore emphasized it so strongly; he'd already reached the conclusion that Voldemort might have several Horcruxes, and understood Tom's psychology well enough that he might have come up with the number seven on his own. In any case, he wouldn't need *this specific memory* to confirm that—this only has Tom contemplating seven Horcruxes; it's not a statement that he's made them or what he's made them from. There must be other ways this information could be found.

We learn several other things from this memory. It tells us is that Slughorn was ashamed of his support for Tom Riddle, so ashamed that he not only altered the section about telling him about Horcruxes, but his exhortation that Tom would become "Minister of Magic within twenty years." Tom politely declines; already, he knows that _political_ power is not what he seeks. That Slughorn felt the need to alter this part of the memory lets us know that either he is uncommonly deceptive, or wizarding society tolerates deception more than it would tolerate support for the man who became Lord Voldemort.

Let's take a deeper look at that aspect: We know Slughorn is ambitious and possibly deceitful, but Dumbledore respects him despite his social climbing. He must not be too bad; after all, when Harry & Dumbledore found him, he'd been running from Death Eaters for over a year; he doesn't want to turn his abilities to evil. He is uncommonly concerned with social status, which might lead him to disavow all connection with an evil wizard—but surely there must've been dozens of wizards who helped Voldemort in similar ways, supporting his rise to power, giving him crucial information, encouraging him to stretch his abilities. 

I suspect the reason Slughorn changed not only the portion of the memory that talks about Horcruxes, but also the part where he encourages Tom, is because wizarding society uses a strange sort of doublethink, where many (perhaps most) people firmly refuse to admit any affiliation with the "losing side" of any situation. We see this in the Daily Prophet's blind turnaround from lambasting Harry to worshipping him; we can assume it's an expected attitude in Wizarding culture: if I support it now, I have always supported it; if I hate it now, I have always hated it. The ones who remember otherwise, and are willing to say so in public, are mistrusted and feared.

So we can believe that self-deceit and selective memory are acceptable traits to most wizards; certainly Fudge had no difficulties with popular opinion before it was proven well beyond even unreasonable doubt that Voldemort was alive. Until then, people were perfectly happy to believe that Harry was deluded, Dumbledore was deluded or lying for an agenda or both, dementors were scary but controllable servants, and Azkaban was secure from any real problems. And they deeply resented being shown any evidence to the contrary—especially their own past actions and statements.

This penchant for and acceptance of self-deceit makes it very hard to judge the morality one of Slughorn's other statements: that Horcruxes are created by murder, "the supreme act of evil." Is murder really the most evil action the Wizarding world can imagine? Was Slughorn speaking accurately & honestly, or was he "toeing the party line?" 

By agreeing with the common sentiment that nobody with a shred of decency would consider outright murder, especially for such a selfish purpose, he is able to say (to himself at least), "I helped teach Tom Riddle ethics," which would've been a point in his favor if Tom had gone into politics. So perhaps his statement is just political hyperbole, the kind of comment one expects from social climbers.

But let's assume for the moment that Slughorn was not spouting propaganda, but declaring the standard Wizarding attitude. If murder *really* is the worst evil they can imagine, then they are woefully uninformed about child abuse, rape and torture. It's possible this is the case: we don't know how bad the Cruciatus curse is, but we've met several people who seemed to survive it without years of nightmares, and while the descriptions of it seem painful, it doesn't seem to have the emotional impact of, say, ripping out someone's fingernails or poking pins in sensitive parts and then heating them to red-hot. Certainly it doesn't seem comparable to the mental anguish of torturing and raping small children in front of their parents. 

Maybe wizards are just unimaginative. But I don't think so; I rather believe that murder as "the supreme act of evil" is the same kind of hyperbole we'd find in the Muggle world: something a public official would say when he discussed the actions of criminals, without consideration to what might be worse. Still, the vehemence he mentions it with implies that murder is *very* serious for wizards, perhaps more so than in Muggle society. There aren't nearly as many wizards as Muggles, and they can live much longer than Muggles; maybe murder is the crime considered worst, at least from the legal system's perspective. The effects of torture, after all, may be overcome with time and treatment… Neville doesn't have a lot of hope for his parents, but he hasn't given up on them either—and they may have a hundred years or more to seek a cure.

This is a point that relates strongly to fanfiction: in many stories, Death Eaters go on killing rampages, and "good wizards" blast them back, and the bodies fall like rain over the battlefields. In the books, however, very few wizards have died by violence. (They don't seem to take Muggle deaths very seriously at all, except as a matter of PR risk—wizards killing Muggles bring too much Muggle attention to the wizarding world.) And wizards speak in whispers about anyone willing to kill another wizard. The death of a student at Hogwarts was still big news 50 years later—in a school where staircases move around on their own, children handle blast-ended skrewts, and magical dueling is common, a single death several generations ago stands out in their minds.

This could be a major aspect of ethics in Wizarding society. So while the memory itself is probably not crucial to the story, Slughorn's actions in regards to it, and the attitudes he expresses in it, may be very important for our understanding of their culture.

And this ties right into the next topic: Horcruxes, and Voldemort's creation of them. 

Back to the Beginning  
Memory Games  
Harry is the Chosen One  
Extraneous details

##  The Horcruxes

Dumbledore said the memory "confirms" his theory, rather than gives him essential information. He already knew there were multiple Horcruxes, since two of them had been destroyed. He needed to know how many. He could have guessed, but he might've guessed three, another number with great magical significance in many cultures. If that were the case, they could attack Voldemort immediately, as two Horcruxes plus the piece in his body would be the complete soul. Three would've been quite impressive on its own, since Dumbledore believes no other wizard in history has ever split his soul more than once. But Dumbledore suspected that wasn't right, perhaps because he hadn't seen any frantic activity from Voldemort following the destruction of the book, and because the ring was locked away in a way that Voldemort couldn't easily check on it. Dumbledore assumed Voldemort would have a way of confirming the safety at least some of his Horcruxes.

The multiple splits would explain Voldemort's growing madness and cruelty, and how he gained followers in the first place: Tom Riddle was an attractive, ambitious man, perhaps a bit shy in ethics, but not a psychotic lunatic. Over the years, as he created Horcruxes, he lost the devotion of his followers as he became less and less human. There's room for perhaps some understanding for those who renounced him after his death—perhaps when they joined him, he really wasn't that bad. We'd been assuming (most of us, I think) that his followers were deluded by visions of power and glory, and didn't notice what a monster Voldemort was. But with this info about the Horcruxes, we realize that may not be the case—perhaps he really was just a power-hungry mage who didn't mind a bit of Muggle oppression (and wasn't squicked at the idea of killing people to get power), and later changed into a near-soulless man who would kill or torture anyone who thwarted the slightest of his whims.

I wonder how many Horcruxes he had when Snape left his service, and whether those details were related. Perhaps Snape saw him create or heard him talk about a Horcrux, and _that_ , not some guilt over the death or impending death of his school-age enemies, was the deciding factor in his leaving. Snape might've told Dumbledore "He's got a Horcrux, and from how he talked about it, I think he's got more than one," and that might've been the key detail that made Dumbledore aware that his death from his encounter with Harry Potter did not end the problem. Perhaps that Horcrux was the ring, which is why Dumbledore knew to go after it. 

Two down, five to go… as Harry says, 

> _"… the diary's gone, the ring's gone. The cup, the locket, and the snake are still intact, and you think there might be a Horcrux that was once Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's?"_

So they have two known items to track down, and one unknown, and Nagini, and finally Voldemort himself. I expect this merry chase to take up a good section of book 7, starting with the locket that used to be at Sirius' house.

Nagini is an interesting choice. Dumbledore speculates that she was chosen by default, because Voldemort had only the 5 Horcruxes when he died attacking Harry. We can wonder whether he was so fixed on his idea of "7 souls" as the ultimate power that he was willing to forego using a very significant death or an object of historical import. Dumbledore notes that it's "risky" to put part of your soul in a creature that thinks and acts on its own, but doesn't explain why. (As in, why it would be more risky than splitting your soul in the first place.) Part of the risk, obviously, is that living things can die… he can't safely put Nagini in a vault and leave her unattended for a hundred years. 

This may also explain why Harry saw things from Nagini's perspective during OotP; the portion of Voldemort's soul that inhabits Nagini is the same portion that attacked Harry; it's the portion he'd intended to use Harry's death to sever from his body. (We can only wonder what item he intended to use for that Horcrux. James' and Lily's wedding ring, perhaps? Some essentially Gryffindor-ish object that James always carried?)

Back to the Beginning  
Memory Games  
Contemplating Horcruxes  
Extraneous details

##  The Chosen One

In the last section of this chapter, we see Harry ~~change from Panicked Capslock Boy to Noble Young Gryffindor Hero Man~~ come to terms with the destiny Voldemort—not the prophecy—has inflicted on him.

Harry is understandably nervous when Dumbledore tells him that, even after the Horcruxes have been destroyed, it will take "uncommon skill and power" to defeat Voldemort. Harry doesn't think he has uncommon _anything_ , except perhaps a knack for finding trouble. But Dumbledore hastens to assure him that his ability to love, especially after what's happened to him, will be power and protection enough. 

We're not sure if the "what's happened to you" refers to the death of his parents (surely Harry is not the only orphan wizard who can love?) or the near-abusive treatment at the hands of the Dursely's, or the string of misfortunes and deaths that follow him at Hogwarts. We are sure that the strength of Harry's devotion to his friends and family are intensely painful, even damaging, to Voldemort, enough so that he cannot invade Harry's mind, or can't stay there long. 

We also know that Harry has never been tempted to use his connection to Voldemort for personal gain… he's never tried to learn the many dark spells that might be within his reach, never tried to make a bargain—"Let me and my friends live, and I won't oppose your reign of terror"—never tried to appease Voldemort or offer him absolution for his evil actions, never tried to play up his own status as "the man who might be able to take down Voldemort." Harry doesn't even consider the idea "well, if he's *very* sorry about what he did, and promises never to do anything like it again, maybe we could let him live, because after all, he's a very powerful wizard from a very prestigious line…" which is what we can imagine the Ministry of Magic said after his early criminal activities. 

No, Harry wants him dead for all his crimes, and Harry has no interest in profiting from his life or death, nor from Harry's own connection to him. Harry, of course, is not alone in these feelings; there are no doubt hundreds of wizards who want Voldemort dead and gone, with no interest in possible gain thereby except that which comes from ridding the world of an evil. Ron and Hermione, we're certain, would stand firmly against everything Voldemort does; Neville would never bargain with him; nor would Lupin, nor would several others. 

Pretty much everyone depicted as "good" or "noble" would like Voldemort gone. There's some hint that most would be tempted to use his power rather than just destroy it, that very few wizards would be as free from greed or vengeance, but we can assume that Harry's only "rare," not "unique" in that. I believe his ability is not so much "to love," but for love to be a *defining* trait; when Harry was possessed by Voldemort, his love for Sirius, rather than his desire for vengeance or hatred of his parents' killer, was his foremost emotion. And this is so natural and obvious to Harry, that he has trouble believing Dumbledore's exhortations that it is a rare and precious gift, his ability to love despite the tragedies he's been through.

However, he has no trouble following Dumbledore's logic about the prophecy: that it was not aimed at Harry, but at an unknown person who fit a set of traits (born at the end of the seventh month yadda yadda)… and that Voldemort _chose_ , from his fear and greed, to make Harry into the person who fit all those requirements. It could have been… well, not "anyone," but at least a couple of people in current Wizarding society (Harry & Neville—who also loves deeply despite tragedies), and probably several others if one moves outside of the U.K. 

Voldemort could've foiled the prophecy entirely by refusing to acknowledge it, by refusing to believe anyone was born who would challenge him. But Voldemort believed the prophecy, and decided to take steps against it… so he picked someone who fits the basic description given, and singled him out as a threat (fulfilling a segment of the prophecy he didn't know about), and attacked him under circumstances invoking his mother's great love (the "power he knows not," more of the prophecy fulfilled), and in doing all this, sets up Harry to fulfill the prophecy.

And now Harry knows that it's not a case of "this prophecy says you have to kill Voldemort; go get 'im, lad," but "of all the people who would love to take Voldemort down—of all the people he's harmed and abused—you alone have been given the unique tools to do so. For the sake of your parents, your godfather, your friends, you should strive to defeat him, as we all do… and by the actions he's taken against you, _you have that ability_. You *are* the Chosen One— **Voldemort chose you.** Are you going to waste that gift?" 

Of course, Harry will not. Harry is a heroic, ~~testosterone-driven~~ brave, noble, honorable young man who wants to protect his friends and family and destroy evil. Once he realizes that his life is not being controlled or manipulated by some random snippet of Trelawny's dementia, but that the prophecy only *describes*, not creates, the relationship between himself and Voldemort, he's willing and even eager to take his place on the front lines, and do whatever it takes to destroy this blight on the Wizarding world he's come to love.

Back to the Beginning  
Memory Games  
Contemplating Horcruxes  
Harry is the Chosen One

  
**_Tidbits_**  
There are other interesting tidbits in this chapter—that Dumbledore refers to Voldemort by his chosen name instead of his birth name, for example, leading us to think that such things must be widely accepted in the Wizarding world. Dumbledore also knew of Voldemort's reaction to the destruction of the diary, which tells us that he must have an active spy in the Death Eaters. We find out that the sword is the only _known_ relic of Godric Gryffindor. Dumbledore confirms that the Elixir of Immortality is not as simple as it may sound—someone who wants to be truly self-reliant would consider it too much of a handicap, so the Stone must be very difficult to create or complex to use, or both. There's the memory itself; it seems that the "memory fog" mentioned in chapter 17 only affects the Pensieve memory, not the original. And at the very beginning, the Fat Lady lies to Harry and says the password has changed when it has not; apparently, portraits have a good deal of self-determination, perhaps as much as we'd expect from a living person.

Any of these minor details is usable as a starting point for fanfiction or worthy of its own essay. Chapter 23 is rich in both major plot points and world-building details; it's worth careful rereading to catch all the subtle nuances. 

Back to the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted at [https://hp-essays.livejournal.com/136471.html](https://hp-essays.livejournal.com/136471.html?format=light) where there are comments.


End file.
